Program Manual - Saint Louis University

32 - Admission Policies and Procedures
For the admitted student holding an appropriate Master's
degree, the additional preparation for preliminary degree
examinations generally will approximate 24-30 credit-hours;
ordinarily, most of this work is expected to be advanced graduate
level. Assumedly, the Master's degree study, as a whole or
in substantial part, will contribute to the total post-baccalaureate
preparation for preliminary degree exams. After the student
has been in residence for an academic term, slhe may petition
for "advanced standing" and formal recognition of the applicability
to the doctoral program of that academic work completed
elsewhere. Additional graduate level, academic work, not part
of any earned advanced degree, may be formally transferred
into the doctoral program, but a minimum of twenty-foul' (24)
credit-hours of advanced academic work, prior to the researchphase
of the program, must be completed in residence.
For the student admitted to pursue the Ph.D. degree directly
from the baccalaureate, the total credit-hours required (in residence)
prior to preliminary degree-exams may be as few as
forty-eight (48). See the Curricula and Courses section of the
Catalog for requirements in specific fields in this regard.
A formal minor at the doctoral level must include at least
twelve (12) credit-hours of postbaccalaureate work in the minor
field, and a minimum of nine (9) of those hours must be strictly
graduate level. Nine (9) of the total of twelve semester-hours
must be completed in residence, and minimally six of these nine
hours must be 500- or 600-level. If the student pursues a "parallel"
certificate, it ordinarily requires completion of minimally
fifteen (15) credit-hours, but a p0l1ion of those credits may also
partially satisfy requirements fol' the degree sought.
Ordinarily, no doctoral program may include more than onefifth
(20%) of the coursework in preparation for preliminary
degree examinations in Research Topics ("597," "697") or
Graduate Reading ("598," "698") courses or a combination
thereof. Graduate School degree-students are not permitted to
take 400-1evel tutorials (identified by the course-number 497
or 498).
Research-Tools Requirements
Such requirements are not imposed by The Graduate School
as a whole because of variable needs across major fields. Most
depm1ments or doctoral programs prescribe levels of competence
to be attained in foreign-language translation, statistics,
computer literacy, or other tools of resem'ch. These proficiencies
are generally to be developed in addition to the ordinary
academic work required for the degree. Students are expected
to familim'ize themselves em'ly with the specific requirements
of their depmtments or major fields.
Residency
The Ph.D.-degree student must anticipate at least three (3)
calendar years of in-residence study and research or the
equivalent. Each Ph.D, degree student is expected to spend at
least one (1) academic year or its equivalent in full-time, inresidence
pursuit (at the University) of the degree. The minimum
tenure in this regard is one full semester and a contigu-
ous summer-sessions. The general conditions of fulfillment
of the residency requirement are outlined by the department
01' major field of study, subject to approval by the Graduate
Dean. Several programs require contractual residencies.
If a graduate student is pursuing the doctorate in the same
major field in which a Master's degree has been awarded,
all academic work having been completed at Saint Louis
University, the same calendar year of residency may fulfill the
requirement for both degrees. If the doctoral work is undertaken
in a department or program different from that of the
Master's degree, the stated residency requirement associated
with the Ph.D. degree program must be fulfilled separately.
Preliminary Degree Examinations
Each doctoral program will administer a written degreeexamination
consistent with the expectations of the academic
discipline. In general, major fields will administer one
of two types of written examinations. In some programs, a
qualifying examination will be administered relatively early
in the student's doctoral studies. In other programs, the written
examination is structured to assess comprehensive and integration
of knowledge of the discipline and is administered later
after all or nearly all of the student's structured, advanced,
academic work has been completed. Written examinations
will be administered in both major and minor fields of study
if a student has declared a formal minor. The results of the
written examinations are communicated by letter to the Dcan
of the Graduate School in care of the Doctoral Candidacy
Advisor and, if the student's pelformance is satisfactory, the
department chaiIperson recommends a committee of five (5)
members of the Graduate Faculty who will administer the oral
degree examination.
Oral Examination
An oral degree examination is scheduled in advance of the
formalized research-phase of the student's program and after
the Dean approves the examination committee of minimally
five Graduate Faculty members. This examination may evaluate
broad knowledge of the field (if the student took and
passed written qualifying exams) or it may be largely focused
on the disse11ation-proposal/prospectus (usually consisting of
a statement of the pl'Oblem, literature review, and the research
design prepared for the investigation) if the student's written
preliminary degree-exam was comprehensive. In either case,
the examination should be structured to assess the student's
ability to integrate knowledge across the discipline. At the
end of the examination and before the committee is dismissed,
the members of the examination committee independently
complete confidential ballots evaluating the student's
performance; these sealed ballots are then delivered to the
Graduate Dean in care of the Doctoral Candidacy Advisor. A
student receiving two or more unfavorable evaluations from
examinees fails the examination. The Graduate School Dean
formally communicates the outcome of the examination in
writing to the student.